Well, I'm sorry An Clachan, but you leave me no choice. I have to downgrade you to two stars. That's twice in one week that you've disappointed me.
The first was on Sunday, when we stopped by on a walk round the park for some refreshments. I know it was very busy, but to ask for £9.60 for 2 coffees and 2 tiny cupcakes is nothing short of daylight robbery. When I queried the charge, the serving lady had to consult with higher authority, and then the price was reduced to a (still hefty) £8.40. Come on now, you're a cafe in the park, not a restaurant in the Merchant City.
After that I was prepared to take my patronage elsewhere, but on finding myself passing again today at lunchtime, I thought I'd give you a chance to redeem yourself.
Today was very quiet on the customer front, so I ordered a hot smoked salmon with horseradish toastie (from the "TOASTIES" menu), together with my usual Americano, which came to a more reasonable £4.60. The server (not sure if she was the same one as Sunday - she may have been) even looked at the TOASTIES menu and pointed at the one I had picked.
Armed with my coffee, I sat down to browse the newspapers and awaited my lunch.
You can imagine my surprise when, instead of the hot smoked salmon & horseradish toastie that I was expecting, I was served a poached salmon roll with side salad. I was momentarily stunned into silence, and too hungry to wait for the mistake to be rectified, so I ate it. Very nice it was too, but it wasn't a TOASTIE!
I want to like this place, I really do, but they need a serious review of their pricing strategy and their staff training, as clearly much is being lost in translation between the counter and the kitchen.
Next! read more